Two Entrepreneurs Walk Into A Bar

One evening, late in the spring of 2016, Hannah and Nicola, two friends and fellow entrepreneurs, met for a drink at a bar in Chamonix. Earlier that evening, they had attended a meetup of a local technology group, ChamGeeks, and their discussion soon turned to their shared love of debating ideas and innovation in an intimate environment.

They recalled the incredibly diverse backgrounds of their friends in the Chamonix Valley and pondered

“Is there an opportunity to bring ideas and innovation to Chamonix on a larger scale?”

By the end of the evening, the idea to host TEDxChamonix was born.

The two reached out to their local friends and contacts to see if others were keen on the idea of bringing global ideas to Chamonix and spreading Chamonix ideas globally. Soon after, volunteers gathered to design and advance the proposal to the TEDx approval committee, sort out roles, and endeavoured to plan and execute the event.

Bighorn Bistro and Bakery, Hannah’s business, served as the perfect location to brainstorm for our first proposal (rejected!) and our second proposal (accepted!). Nicola is a co-founder of The Ski Locker Coworking Space, which has played an integral role in incubating the organisation and event production. Hannah is on the production team and is our talent liaison, something she is familiar with as her establishment regularly hosts open mic nights. As the founder of a few startups, Nicola naturally fell into the role of lead organiser.

The idea to host a TEDx event is the simple first step in the process. The next few steps were a bit more rocky!